They say, "I can quit anytime I want." We say, "Prove it."

Greed is an addiction. Addictions don't live on their own. They need support. Imagine a whole household ruled by the disease of addiction. Everyone plays a role in feeding it. Understanding that addictions to wealth and power are real and potent, and thinking of our society as a household ruled by these addictions, explains a great deal of the dominant operating system of our time, the addiction system:

Some in this system are enablers, unable to establish healthy boundaries and stuck in a toxic, abusive, codependent relationship with those controlled by addiction.

Some are suffering as addicts themselves. They may use and abuse our own wealth and power against us. In many cases, they are clearly a threat to themselves and to others.

In our system, without recovery, addicts often cannot see past the next fix at any cost, and the disease can control everyone and everything necessary to keep the substance flowing. Either way, when they are confronted about the addiction, about the damage it causes, and about options for recovery, all too often the response from the disease can be denial, at best, and retaliation, at worst. They may put all the blame on others instead of showing they're taking responsibility. They may tell us they are all we have, that we should feel lucky to have the relationship we have with them. They may promise to get better but never take the steps toward true recovery. They may use coercion or threats to keep us right where the addiction needs us.

More often than not, we feel it's easier or safer to submit and feed it the addiction more. The cycle of control and abuse continues. While the separation between all of us continues to grow, we may realize that connection to one another is the best chance any of us have for recovery.

In the face of abuse, and without a sincere willingness to choose recovery, a sustained intervention is necessary from those impacted by the disease. Only together can all those whose lives are ruled by insatiable addiction begin to gain the strength to overcome the disease and the system constructed to feed it.